The article summarized the study entitled Reinforcement of Reading habit through TBM as an Efffort of Improving Information Literacy which was conducted in Semarang municipal city, in 2012. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not reading habit could improve information literacy through the effort of TBM (colportage). The data were collected through literature study and analyzed using descriptive qualitative method. The results showed that according to the data from Indonesian Statistic Board, the number of illiterate people slightly decreased. It was shown by the number an increase in the number of the people who read newspapers above 50 %, magazine 29.22%, fiction 16.72%, school books 44.28% and knowledge books 21.07%. This implies that TBMs are able to improve information literacy by many activities to attract people to read, such as computer training, English speaking training, sewing, embroidering, cooking, and training in using Applied Technology (Tehnologi Tepat Guna). By conducting such activities, the reading habit of people surrounding TBM are increase. This can be seen from the lists of TBM’s visitors. When the users of TBM are literate, the flooded information will be a good reinforcement. By positive reinforcement of TBM, reading habit will improve. To increase reading habit, people, especially in North coastal area of Java, need efforts from governments, educators, managers of colportage, reading communities, libraries, and people who pay special attention to the development of reading habit. It is suggested that there should good cooperation among TBMs, library, the governments in order to create reading habit. By such cooperation, the National Movement of the Accelleration of the Illeteracy Eradication (Gerakan Nasional Penuntasan Buta huruf ) and 9-year Compulsory Education will surely be successful.. Keywords : Taman Baca Masyarakat (TBM); Colportage; Information Literacy

1. REINFORCEMENT READING CULTURE THROUGH
TAMAN BACA MASYARAKAT
AS AN EFFORT TO INCREASE INFORMATION LITERACY
By :
Sri Ati Suwanto*)
*) Lecturer from Department Library Science, Faculty of
humanities, Diponegoro University
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2. BACKGROUND
 Indonesian people’s Reading interest are low
 Data from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) :
Indonesia gets the 96th rank, parallel with Bahrain, Malta, and Suriname. Only two
countries which are under the rank of Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.
 According to Unicef, Indonesian’s reading habit is 0,01 %. It means that one book
is read by one thousand persons. And data from Human Development Index (HDI)
provided by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), stated that
Indonesia is on 111st rank from 179 countries..
 The other data from Indonesian Statistics Central Board (1993) stated that
Indonesian people with 15 years age who read newspaper are 55.11 %, who read
magazine 29.22 %, Fiction 16,72 %, school books 44.28 % and knowledge books
21,07. So there is a defference data between the number of reading habit
and the number of people who read.
 Meanwhile the data from Statistics Indonesia Board states that in 2012 the
illiterate people all over Indonesia are 2 %, and in 2011 2.3 %.. It means there is
an increase in number of literate people. It may be cause by the effort from the
government`
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3. BACKGROUND
 The Constitution of Indonesia (Indonesian: Undang-Undang Dasar
Republik Indonesia 1945, UUD '45) articles 31, point 1, states that each
person have the right of education.
 The government has issued a regulation to increase reading habit in establishing
TBM, by producing regulation namely “Undang-undang Sisdiknas” (Regulation on
National Education System) in 2003, article 26; section 3, about Non-formal
education, which states that Non-formal education including education of early-
aged children, wommen empowerment, Literacy education, skills education,
equivallence education, and some other educations to improve the ability of
students.
The other regulation is the Instruction of President, no 5, 2006, concerning National
Movement in finishing mandatory study (Penuntasan Wajib Belajar) nine year
primary education and Movement in Fighting against illiterate (Gerakan
Pemberantasan Buta Aksara)/ (GNP-PWB/PBA ) concerning the technical
guideline of the implementation of GNP-PWB/PBA .
Based on the regulation, 2012, the Department of Community Education (Dirjen
Pendidikan Masyarakat) provides services on literacy program, entrepreneur
education, improvement reading culture, and some others.
One of the activity programs on improving reading culture is establishing Public
Reading House (Taman Baca Masyarakat/ TBM). 3

4. TAMAN BACA MASYARAKAT /TBM
(PUBLIC READING HOUSES)
 Activists who care of the low of reading habits Indonesian people have
participated in doing everything to embed reading habit in Indonesian society.
One of the activities is establishing the Taman Baca Masyarakat.
 Taman Baca Masyarakat is a place for people to read like a library, but ussully
provided by communities. There are many TBM in Central Java. There are
more than 1000 TBM in Central Java, and about 40 TBM in Semarang. They
serve collections, such as books and journal to read by communities. Usually
they are of low level communities.
 Their activities are fundamentally the same as libraries, to collect information
sources, than manage them, and serve to people to read the information. The
difference is the users who use Library and TBM . The library’s users usually
people who go to schools, meanwhile the users of TBM are people who usually
has dropped out from schools, women who accompany their children going to
early-age children education schools (Sekolah Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini) and
fathers who wants to find reading materials or literature in their leisure time.
They are from grass root level.
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5.  TBM can increase people’s ability to read, to learn
many skills. By coming to TBM, people who drop out
from scholls can increase their skills by reading at, and
those who are literate, will increase their knowledge.
 Ussualy TBM is connected with some other
activities in a village such a Center of Society
Learning Activity (PKBM). In PKBM, there are
many activities to improve peoples’ skills, such as
cooking, sewing, and electronic skills. These
activities atrract people’s interest. Before doing
their activities, they are asked to read some books
containing the skills.
 By establishing PKBM together with TMB, people
will be accustomed to reading.
 Finnally they will have reading habit.
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6. THE USERS AND ACTIVITIES OF TBM
 The users of TBM in Semarang are varies. The users of TBM in North
Semarang subdistrict, so called TBM Sasana Wiyata, are Karangtaruna (a
group of people who have dropped out of schools), primary high schools
students, senior high schools students, university students.
 The TBM’s activities are serving books and magazines, Training Karangtaruna
in order to be computer literate, training cooking and sewing for mothers. They
must read a book before going to the trainings. Their activies are bundled
together with Rumah Pintar (a group many activities merged together in an
area/ house). So the people feel freely to read books before training.
 The users of TBM in South Semarang so called TBM Mortir, Anggrek and Ken
Maos, are more varry. They are children who going to early-age children
education schools (PAUD), their mothers, Karangtaruna (a group of people
who have dropped out of schools), primary high schools students, and
university students. Their activities nearly same as what have been done by
TBM Sasana Wiyata, but they don’t have Rumah Pintar.
 The users and activites of TBM in West Semarang and East Semarang
subdistricts are nearly the same with South Semarang.
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7. INFORMATION LITERACY >< READING HABIT
 People who read much will be eager to read again. The more they read the
more they want to learn knowledge. They will have abilities to recognize what
they need. They will know what they need, and know how to find them.
 “Information literacy is an understanding and set of abilities enabling
individuals to recognise when information is needed and have the capacity to
locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information'." (Council of
Australian University Librarian, 2004)
 Meanwhile ALA (1989) has stated that : “Information literate people are those
who have learned how to learn. They know how to learn because they know
how knowledge is organized, how to find information and how to use
information in such a way that others can learn from them. They are people
prepared for lifelong learning, because they can always find the information
needed for any task or decision at hand.
 Than Sudarsono (2007) stated that Information literacy is the situation where
people are aware of information (melek informasi)
 So that someone who are literate, they must be have reading habit.
 After the people have reading habit, reading culture will come true
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8. Creating reading culture
To create a reading culture the principal and staff
need:
 to fully support the library/ TBM and its
resources, services and programmes
 a shared vision of the school's reading culture
 to know why it's important
 to know what an engaged reader looks like/ to
know who are the reader
 to understand the impact of reading on student
achievement.
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9. CONCLUTION
 By establishing TBM, people can help others to understand and
recognize what they need, how to find them, and they will use
them effectively.
 It needs people awareness especially librarians to increase
reading habit.
 When reading habit increase, people will be literate.
 When the user of TBM are literate, the flooded information
will be a good reinforcement.
 By reinforcement TBM reading habit will increase.
 When Reading habit increases, reading culture will come true.
 That’s need hard effort for all people who care with the
development of the nation
 Hopefully, it can be realized, sooner or later…
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